The Dark Fairy
by Picard578
Summary: Leo and Corrin join the Fairy Tail guild.
1. Learning Magic

Leo hated his life. Not that it was uncomfortable: his family was very wealthy, and their manor was removed from the nearest village quite some distance. But his father was a notorious womanizer, with only the oldest child – Xander – being legitimate. All other children were result of one-night stands that his father had started engaging in after his wife had died. People talked, of course. Such a behaviour of a wealthy noble was scandalous to say the least. And after death of his wife, father had changed. While never outright abusive, he started ignoring his family, content to waste his time gambling, drinking, and getting into bar fights. His younger children were literal children of whores that father had brought home after having sex with them, his kind heart – what remained of it – not allowing him to leave them not taken care of. But they died, one by one, leaving their children behind. Leo never understood how that had happened. In the end, only his father and his siblings were left. But ever since father had given to drinking, old man Gunther – his father's guard - was the one managing family business – trade and mining, mostly.

At his fifth birthday, Gunther brought an orphan home. Corrin – that was her name, as they found out after she had stopped crying – was a child of travelling traders. But her parents were killed by bandits when caravan was attacked, and she ran off into forrest. It was by pure luck that she met Gunther who had been patrolling the estate after hearing of a string of attacks by bandits in the area. Gunther brought her to the Woodstock estate, bathing her and giving her new clothes before introducing her to the family. She was nearly unanymously adopted into the family, but Leo was still unsure what to think about her. She was polite enough, but very withdrawn. While she did open up with time, she was more interested in playing with dolls or, later, swordplay – though Leo did value time they spent reading together in the library, it was very limited, their sessions few and far between. Corrin also became close to Gunther, and old retainer sometimes took them on camping trips. Even there, Leo typically observed Corrin fooling around while he read, at least until Gunther took them both for a combat training session – Leo had taken to darkness magic quite quickly, while Corrin preferred magical weapons. But like all good things, it couldn't last.

It was a calm, moonless night. Leo had stayed up for a long time, watching stars, before retreating to a bed. But the reprieve did not last long before Gunther came rushing into the room.

"Lord Leo! Wake up!"

"..."

"Leo! Get up! We have to get Corrin!"

"What? What is happening?"

"Mansion is under attack! They hit the rooms in the other wing with a cursed fire. We need to leave!"

"What about the others? Father, Xander-"

"Dead. There's nothing to do, we need to leave!"

At that, Leo jumped out of the bet and quickly dressed, while Gunther went to Corrin's room. Leo took with him a dagger and few apples and tomatoes from the nightstand before rushing into the hallway to meet Gunther and frightened Corrin. She was a sobbing wreck, but was keeping up with the old knight. They went into the basement, to an old statiue which Gunther opened to reveal a secret passage. After few minutes of walking, they exited into a forrest. Gunther apparently knew directions well, for he immediately continued walking towards, as he explained, a small town nearby. Leo had been in the town a few times, and recalled that it was the place where Guther had found Corrin.

They had been walking in silence another few minutes. Corrin felt the chills run down her spine while looking around the dark, silent forrest, and took Leo's hand in an attempt to calm herself. She thought she had seen the shadows move, but said nothing out of fear that Leo would think her ridiculous. But Gunther's age had not dulled his senses, and he too noticed that something was amiss. The old knight quickened his pace and turned to undergrowth, beckoning the kids to follow him. But his efforts were not enough, as a blast of magic exploded but few meters away.

"RUN!"

"Gunther, we're not-"

"No time to argue, Corrin! Leo, take her and run!"

Leo just gritted his teeth, took Corrin by hand, and ran away. He knew that odds were good Gunther will be overwhelmed by the enemies, but if they died, then everything the old knight did for them would have been for nothing. So he ran, and never looked back. It was only few minutes later that they stopped running, and decided to hide in the bush. It was only then that Corrin calmed down enough to speak.

"Leo, why did they do this?"

"Like they needed a reason. Dark guilds spread misery, that is what they are best at. Maybe they wanted money, or some tome from the library, or maybe they did it for no reason but to pass time. Trying to discover their motives with this little information is hopeless".

"What are we going to do next?"

"I don't know. Ask me in the morning."

With that, Corrin fell asleep while Leo stayed up, thinking about the past and the future. Few hours later, he woke up Corrin and went to sleep. At dawn, Corrin woke him up and they continued on their trek towards the town.

NOTES:

Yes, Leo is aware that he and Corrin are not related. I could not just transplant the entire FE:F universe into Fairy Tail, so I changed a lot in the backstory, as much as I thought I could get away with without changing characters in a major way.


	2. Life Shaken

After escaping from the ruined manor, Leo and Corrin continued living on the move, doing odd jobs here and there. These jobs were rather varied, and they never stayed long in one place. Working in an apothecary, in a warehouse, a shop... assisting in a vineyard or a garden... these were all experiences Leo cherished as an opportunity to learn more. Just on Corrin's fourteenth birthday – Leo had turned thirteen two months before – they came across a library. It turned out that the library was dedicated to study of magic, and Leo looked in awe at row upon row of books present.

"Greetings.", Leo nearly jumped out of his skin when an old librarian appeared apparently out of thin air. "Is there any way I may be able to help you?"

"Er... my name is Leo, and this is Corrin. We are... kind of in a bind here. We lost our home in an attack, and now I'm looking for a job..."

"Oh, dear... there is nothing I can do about that, but you may stay and help out. I know working in a library can seem quite dull, but you will learn a lot. Books can be quite good friends, you know."

And just like that, Leo decided to stay. He and Corrin helped, at first with simple tasks – like helping carry the books, or boxes. As time passed, he was allowed to help out with more complex tasks, like arranging the books, and to do simpler tasks without supervision. And in the free time, he read any books he could lay his hands on. The old librarian was quite correct – there were a lot of books in the library. It turned out that many of the staff also knew how to use magic, and were more than happy to help Leo learn. The library even had an inner courtyard where Leo could study in peace, or simply meditate among the plants. That is how the old librarian – Martha – found him one morning.

"You seem to like it here. Did you decide which magic you will focus on?"

"...can I learn plant magic?"

"Oh, you definetly can. In fact, once you learn the basics, you might learn more than one type of magic. But there are not many people capable of that, and for most wizards, focusing on one type only is advisable."

"I already know a little of darkness magic, but I would like to expand my knowledge. Can you help us with it?"

"For sure. Though it does seem Corrin prefers more physical side of activities. I will have to talk with her about her preferences. Oh, and I will be expecting you tomorrow morning in this same place."

The following morning, Leo and Corrin met up with the librarian in the garden. It turned out that Corrin – as Leo expected – was not really a bookish type. She only got interested once librarian explained how it is possible to coat weapons in magic. As for Leo, librarian decided that he should focus on developing darkness magic first, since he already had some – limited – knowledge of it. Plant magic would come later.

First exercises were merely manipulation of already existing plants. Making grass grow taller was the first, followed by reshaping tree branches. As he progressed, he moved to controlling whole plants, at first pliant ones, followed by the plants with hard stalk, which were considerably more difficult. But they were also more rewarding. Librarian explained to him how to make trees into "dolls", though he did not have energy to maintain it for a long time, or even utilize actual full-sized trees. Eventually, he was able to grow plants of his own, though only small plants at first: actual trees were too exhausting. Still, the fact that he was able to grow tomato plants whenever he wished was enough of a cause for celebration.

Corrin, ever hyperactive – though not a morning person either – opted to continue her training with swords, while learning magic at the side that she could combine with the swordplay. For that, librarian taught her the elemental magic, with Corrin quickly taking to air magic. She began learning basics of the lightning magic as well, but this proved to be more difficult. Days were spent helping in the library, studying magic, and sparring with Leo, who also helped her with her studies. But it was still a repetitive lifestyle.

They had been there for almost year and a half. They had gotten used to it – to librarian's nagging, to morning practice and sparrings followed by a lunch break and evenings spent studying. To bland food, to quiet library, to repetitive routine.

"Leeeooo, I am bored!"

"You have been saying that a lot lately."

"But it is true! It is same almost every day! You know I wasn't allowed outside too much by father..."

"Yes, your health problems. But it seems you are doing better now... whatever Martha had been giving you has worked wonders for you. What is your point?"

"I want to go out of here! I want to see more world, I've been closed inside buildings for too long!"

"Okay, let me talk to them."

And so, few hours and a _lot_ od advice later, Leo and Corrin were at the doors of the library. They took their few possessions as well as some food and water the library staff gave them, and set off.


	3. Darkness

They had been travelling for days after leaving the library. Food was not a problem, though Corrin was getting bored of exclusively-vegetable food Leo was providing – it always seemed to be tomatoes with _something_ , and that other _something_ was mostly limited to potatoes, cabbage, spinach, broccoli and carrots. ("At this rate, I'll be turning into rabbit soon.") He wasn't able to grow trees yet, so apples, pears and similar were out of question. Her hopes went up once she saw a forrest ahead, only to be disappointed once Leo pointed out that fruit was unlikely to be found in high-altitude forrests such as that one.

After walking for a long time, they came to a dark forrest of pine trees they had seen ahead. The day was at the end, daylight fading away, and Corrin was feeling tired. Unusually so, in fact. While Leo was used to dark, thanks to his nightly stargazing and usage of darkness magic, Corrin had trouble seeing in the darkness. And the forrest was very dark – she was barely able to see Leo in front of her. Unnaturally dark, in fact, and getting darker. Soon, she wasn't able to see anything, losing Leo out of sight. She tried listening for his footsteps, but didn't hear a thing. At this point, she was ready to start panicking.

Leo, meanwhile, was lost in thought. They needed a job, a stable job, but Corrin was correct that many stable jobs were extremely boring. This left only one option – a guild, but which one? Leo was more than aware of the fact that merely because the guild was legal, it did not mean it was appropriate to get Corrin involved into it. As long as a guild was not too deep in illegal or destructive work, an under-the-table payment to right people was enough to legalize the guild. Corrin, sheltered as she was due to her health issues, could not be left alone with some questionable types. He turned around to ask Corrin for her opinion, but she wasn't there.

"Corrin! Hey, Corrin!"

Leo swore under his breath. Losing her in such a dark forrest was beyond worrisome – there was no telling what could happen. He needed to find her, and fast.

Corrin was running around like a headless chicken when she heard her name being called. But Leo's voice sounded very far away, deep and echoing as if it was coming from the bottom of the barrel. And she was tired, not just body but mind and soul as well. It was ever harder to keep her eyes open, let alone keep walking. She fell, and darkness took her. And from darkness came a group of mages, carrying her away.

Leo tried looking for Corrin, tried feeling for her magical signature, but he felt nothing. He retraced his steps, searching for Corrin's footprints, and eventually found the point where they diverted from his own. Tracing her steps, he came across where they were covered by many other footsteps. An echo of the sleeping magic covered the area, and Leo – to his horror – realized that Corrin had been kidnapped. And if kidnappers were too strong or numerous, there may be nothing he would be able to do. Still, he had to try. He memorized the magic signature he found, and went on, following the steps of Corrin's kidnappers.

After a time, he came across an old mine hidden in the undergrowth. The mine was dark – precisely the way Leo liked it, and he entered the mine, using his magic to stay hidden. The way was steep, but straight, and there were no other tunnels to the side that would cause a dillema. Or at least there weren't, until Leo came across a large, badly lit chamber with multiple exits and a small lake to the side. It was here that he fully realized saving Corrin will not be quick, much less easy, task. And the activity he witnessed in the chamber and the tunnels was rather problematic. Leo estimated there were maybe few dozen bandits – much more than he could take in an open battle, and he couldn't sneak Corrin past them either as she was constantly guarded, whatever they had in mind with her (a test subject, maybe?). Instead, he continued tracking the bandits, memorizing their patterns – such as they were – and especially taking note of any time they tended to be alone and exposed.

Once that was done, it became (relatively) easy task to kill individual bandits, and dispose of the bodies so that it seemed they were gone into thin air. His first kill was a bandit sitting on a privy, followed by a fat cook who was too busy eating whatever he had cooked to notice anything else until Leo opened a new hole in his head with Night's Lance. The cook dropped to ground with a heavy "thud", but luckily there was nobody around to hear it. Leo stole some food – even tomatoes get boring after days spent eating them – and hightailed it out of the kitchen. His luck nearly run out at that point as he ran across a guard, but a thorn spike through the guard's chest solved that particular problem.

This continued for some time, and the bandits soon learned to avoid dark areas. Unfortunately for them, Leo was perfectly capable of creating darkness of his own. He would take out the lights and withdraw, leaving bandits guessing at his whereabouts. Bandits started congregating, first going around in pairs and then in groups. This made Leo's job both easier and harder – he was much less likely to run across a bandit at an inopportune moment, but it also made any attacks much more risky. Still, the bandits were nervous, and Leo concluded that maybe it was the time to save Corrin. He killed a group of bandits farther away from Corrin's cell, and made his way to his goal once bandits started congregating in that area to search for him.

When he destroyed the door to the cell, he found her lying on the floor, fast asleep but seemingly unharmed. There was no time to waste, though, so he took a flask he carried with him and spilled some water on her head.

"...Huh?! Who... Leo!"

"Yes, it is me. Can you move?"

"...I think so."

"Let's go then. We don't have much time. We have to disappear from here while they are still confused."

They went though dark hallways, with Leo keeping them away from the place where he had created distraction. Leo intentionally selected side tunnels, rationalizing that they were less likely to meet someone that way, and if they did, it would be preferable to funnel enemies so that they don't get overwhelmed with numbers. In the end, they came to emergency exit, but it was guarded. Fortunately, the area was in shadow, so Leo was able to sneak up to the guard and slit his throat, after which he and Corrin made good their escape. There were no signs of pursuit, but they allowed themselves some rest only after getting quite a distance away from the dark guild's base. Only then, Leo spoke.

"We may have gotten away, but I created quite a chaos in their base. They will be searching for us."

"Then... what do we do?"

"Stay on the move. Spend as little time in a single place as possible, until we are far away from there. But for now, we need to rest; you sleep, I will stay guard for now."

"Good night, Leo."

"'Night."

And with that, she fell asleep, leaving Leo with his own thoughts. His family had been killed by dark mages, and now he almost lost Corrin as well. He could not allow that to happen again. Corrin was the last light he had in his life, and he has to protect her. Even if he has to sacrifice his heart, even if he has to sacrifice himself, he will protect her.


	4. New Meat

Leo and Corrin had managed to escape after fighting off a group the bandits sent after them. But it was not long before they came across another trouble – a dark guild had just destroyed an entire village. What for, Leo was unable to determine – there was not much left in terms of physical evidence, nor was he able to determine who exactly did it. But it was there that he decided to at least try and make the world a better place. He already had enough reasons to hate dark guilds anyway. Leo started recording all the dark guild activity on a map, and he and Corrin destroyed several dark guilds during this time. Their activity gained them some recognition, and soon a messanger came to them while they were resting in a small town.

"Mister Leo Woodstock, Miss Corrin?"  
"Yes, that would be us."  
"I am here at behalf of Sir Izana. He has heard of your accomplishments, and wishes to discuss an important matter with you."  
"Where are we to meet him?"  
"At his manor. Shall I lead you there?"  
"If it isn't trouble..."

While on the way to the manor, Leo kept wondering what is it exactly that Izana wanted. His province seemed peaceful enough, with little to no traces of dark guild activity. In fact, the countryside they were walking through right now could only be described as "idyllic". But as the small group drew closer to the village, warning signs became more obvious. Wanted posters were plastered on the walls, and it was not long before the group came across a funeral. _Funerals_ , Leo realized – several people were being given funeral at the same time, a rather peculiar occurence. Asking his guides to stop for a moment, Leo bought a newspaper.

 _" **Dark days for our village**_

 _A wave of murders and kidnappings has hit our village. Thirteen people have been killed so far, with seven more confirmed as kidnapped and nine more missing. The authorities report that everything seems to be the work of a single dark guild. Guild's aims remain unknown, but the village leadership is taking measures against the dark mages. Ser Izana, village mayor, has refused to comment on the rumors that mercenaries are being called for in order to put a stop to the dark guild activity. He has confirmed that measures against the dark guild are being carried out, but no further details have been revealed."_

"Seems like the situation here is rather bad. Why did not you put in an official request to a legal guild, or ask for Rune Knights?"  
"Unfortunately, we do not have such luxury.", replied a messanger, Caius. "The guild in question has been only doing this for a very short time. By the time we recieved a reply from either an official guild, or the Rune Knights, many more would have fallen victim to this dark guild. Contacting an independent guild was our only option."  
"Technically, we are not a guild, but I understand where you are coming from. Alright, we will help. But we cannot exactly afford doing this for free."  
"I understand. Don't worry, you will get paid, but you should discuss it with Ser Izana. We are close to his place now."

It was not long before Izana's mansion came into view. It was a very big house, with a lot of useless decoration. This did not speak wonders about the character of mansion's owner, but Leo thought he would ignore it as long as they got the information they were seeking. It did not stop him from having second thoughts once they met Izana himself.

"Welcome! Greetings and salutations! I am Izana, mayor of this village, a patron of arts, and five-time winner of the Best Hair Award!"  
Even Corrin was dumbfounded. "M-mister Izana, what is..."  
"Oh, yes! Silly me... we do have matters to discuss. We should go somewhere more appropriate. Oh, and when we finish, I hope you will stay. I gave orders to prepare a party!"  
"A party? At this time? Does he even understand the situation his village is in? He is so digustingly casual."  
"Stop being grouchy pants, Leo. A little fun will do us good. Oh, and about your collar..."  
"W-what!? Why tell me only now? Seriously..."

With that, they went inside. His mansion seemed nice, but flashy. There were so many decorations that Corrin was overwhelmed trying to take it all in. Leo, for his part, did not change his opinion of the place for one bit, and his opinion of mansion's owner was hardly any better. If Izana's behaviour was any indication, too much decoration could cause brain damage. But Izana apparently could not tolerate silence, and so started discussion anew.

"I had heard much of your exploits against dark guilds. How can I help you?"  
"Information. Are there any reports of dark guild activity in this area? Anything suspicious?"  
"Not in immediate area, but I had heard rumors of dark guilds being busy in a neighbouring province. But maybe we should discuss it in more detail over a nice meal, hm?"  
"...Sure."

It was not long before they were seated at the large table, with very large assortment of foods. Corrin just gawked at the display, but Leo was still suspicious of Izana, and used magic to check the food. It was poisoned. Not terribly surprising, but it was disappointing that they had no peace anywhere. Corrin tried eating some food, but Leo knocked it out of her hand.

"What?"  
"Don't. It is poisoned."  
"Oh, oh. Seems like you caught on. But no matter; you are still going to die!"

At that point, side doors opened and a large number of dark mages burst into the room. "Izana" undid illusion spell, showing his true identity – Zola, a mage responsible for deaths of Leo's family, and hightailed it out of the room. But Leo could hardly think about catching him, not with so many enemies in front of him. He used gravity to throw the table at the enemies, and jumped in front of Corrin, shielding her from direct attacks.

"Corrin, run!"

But Corrin could only watch, frozen to the spot. Spells that had already been fired obliterated the table that Leo had thrown. Smoke and splinters made it hard to see, but with the number of spells dark mages were throwing it made hardly any difference. Leo was hit with multiple spells and thrown back, knocked out cold by the attacks. He was bleeding, and Corrin ran over to his fallen form without thinking. A spell hit her while she was crouched over him, and she was just about to draw her sword – Yato – when the whole room exploded into chaos, as the bandits apparently started fighting among themselves. Right afterwards, the entire room was plunged into darkness, and Corrin could only hear the screams and the sounds of fighting – not even the spells could penetrate the darkness. When the darkness had retreated, only two of the bandits had remained standing.

"Don't worry! A hero of darkness is here!"  
"Seriously, Odin, drop the class act. I am Niles, by the way. Unfortunately, neither of us is really versed in healing magic. Odin here knows some, but it may not be enough for such injuries. We need to find Izana as soon as possible."  
"Understood. And thanks for the help."  
"It was not a problem."

Odin ran over to Leo who was lying in a pool of blood. He proved better in healing magic than Niles apparently expected him to be, and managed to stop most of the bleeding, heal more minor and even partly close some of the deeper wounds. While Leo still needed medical care, he was healed enough that he wouldn't die unless infection set in. Niles found Izana locked in the cellar.

"Ha! Seems like I'm not a toast after all! Let's raise a toast!"  
"Toasting can come later, Izana. We have wounded."  
"Lead the way, then! I have to do my duty as a host, and repay the debt!"

It turned out that Izana, for all his silliness, was well-versed in the healing magic. By the time he was finished, Leo was completely healed – not even scars were left to tell where his wounds were. He was still out cold, though.

"I will give him a room to rest and recover. I cannot tell how long will it take, so you are free to stay here until he recovers."  
"Thank you, sir."

Niles and Odin followed Izana to the room, carrying unconscious Leo down the corridor. Corrin followed behind them, unable to help yet unwilling to leave Leo alone with complete strangers, even if those strangers did save their lives just before. Former bandits placed Leo in the bed, after which Niles went to get some water. He returned soon thereafter, carrying water, which Corrin then coaxed into Leo's mouth.

"How long will he be out?"  
"I cannot say. I believe I do not yet know your name, miss..."  
"...Corrin. I'm Corrin, and this is Leo."  
"Are you family?"  
"...Well, yes and no. I do not have a family, a biological family, but Leo's family took me in when I was still a child. But they are all..."  
"Dead?"  
"Y-yes... killed by dark mages..."  
"I see..."

Niles did not inquire any further; it was not necessary anyway. Instead, he sat in the corner, facing the door, just in case some more bandits appeared. It reminded him of the time when he had a family, and how different it was to street gangs and especially dark guild, where one's loyalty was primarily, if not exclusively, towards himself. When Odin came back from his discussion with Izana, Niles called him aside.

"So, what do you think?"  
"About what?"  
"The kids. I heard some of their story, and it is... familiar, if you know what I mean. I want to help them, but I will not be forcing you to help me with it."  
"What are you talking about? Such a task is perfect for my darkness!"  
"Assuming he survives... but with Izana's facilities, his chances are pretty good."

NOTES:

The surname I chose for Leo comes from the fact that Edward the Black Prince was Edward of Woordstock. And Leo has a lot of "black prince" theme going for him, from black armour to usage of darkness-based magic.


	5. Fairy Tail

Leo has woken up. His body felt numb, and chest was in pain, but he could not see traces of any injuries. Just then, Corrin threw herself at him.

"I'm glad you're OK, Corrin. You must have devil's own luck!"

"You're hardly one to speak. You nearly died there! If Niles and Odin hadn't been around..."

"Niles and Odin...? What are you talking about?"

"They saved us! They were with the bandits that attacked us, but they saved us!"

"Turncloaks, huh... I guess I have to be grateful, but I don't like it. They turned on their comrades once already. What will prevent them from turning on us?"

"They were forced to join by their guildmates. But so far, they didn't get a good opportunity to escape."

"Is that so... well, we are not exactly in a position to refuse their help anyway. But be careful around them. We cannot know if they are telling the truth."

"Leo, you are such a pessimist..."

"Better pessimist than dead. See what happens when you trust people easily."

To this, Corrin had no reply, so the discussion ended. Leo had accepted the pair's offer of help anyway, but Corrin could tell that he was not exactly comfortable with them. They stayed at Izana's place for several more days, as Leo needed time to recuperate despite the fact that the wounds had been completely healed. More to the point, he wanted to take measure of his new – allies? Friends? - but in that time, he found no real reason for suspicion. Other than the fact that they were just wierd, of course, but they _did_ save his and Corrin's life, so he couldn't just send them away simply because they were making him uncomfortable. And if he and Corrin were to continue hunting dark guilds, having former crooks as help would be an important advantage.

So Leo allowed the pair to join them. The two turned out to be major help, just as Leo had predicted. With former criminals' knowledge, taking down criminal organizations, and even dark guilds, became far easier. Several dark guilds were completely destroyed. But what Leo considered their greatest success came only some time later.

As Leo was a regular reader of newspapers, he quickly noticed a marked increase in number of missing children in the area they were currently in. He started recording dates and places where the children disappeared. Most of the children seemed to be orphans, oftentimes so-called "sewer rats", who would not be missed by anyone. This fact raised a major alarm in Leo's head – they were most likely kidnapped by child traffickers, who liked to use such approach in order to keep low profile.

By marking rough areas of disappearance on the map, Leo noticed that kidnappers' activity seemed concentrated in several areas. Those areas were relatively far apart, and Leo called for a meeting.

"As you can see, there seem to be several main areas of operation. This means that we will have to split up. Is that fine with everyone?"

After getting their confirmations, Leo continued.

"Two areas with highest frequencies of kidnappings are near the orphanage, and close to the cathedral. Quite logical, as most orphans would be gathered around there to receive help. Kidnappers will pose as ordinary people, trying to draw away orphans by offering them help – food, sweets, maybe shelter and similar. This means that we might confuse kidnappers for ordinary people. But we cannot just sit around. Any ideas how to get around that?"

"Unfortunately, it is as you said. Kidnappers will not be obivious. We will have to follow anyone suspicious, until we confirm their innocence – or their guilt.", Niles replied. "And we cannot ask for a help from a legal guild. They would not have the experience in dealing with kidnappers, and too large number of people might warn the kidnappers that something is afoot. We have to do this on our own. Kidnappings are more likely to happen at evening or during the night, though, which may or may not help us."

"That would make this an ideal job for the hero of darkness! These villains will not be able to stand against our dark auras, lord Leo!"

"Shut it, Odin. But yes, you are correct – yourself and Leo stand the best chance at infiltrating the traffickers' outpost."

"Then that is how we do it. Let's go."

"Leo,", Corrin called, "be careful."

"You too. And Odin, _stop smirking._ "

Odin just broke into laugh.

The waiting and watching was not exactly the most interesting of activities. Leo had kept watch on the places where orphans had been known to spend time around, but he did not know exactly what to watch out for. Which kids were orphans? Which means were used to kidnap them? Even with few people being around in the late hours, such means could not be very obvious. But soon enough, Leo's thought train was broken by a telepathic message from Niles.

"I have noticed a possible kidnapper. I'm following him towards the old trainyard."

The old warehouse was a perfect place – the trainyard and even the railway itself had fell into disuse after a new railways was built some distance away, the old one being built to older standards and thus too narrow for more modern trains. Leo immediately set off towards the trainyard, notifying Odin beforehand.

Luckily, trainyard was dark, so they were able to get a good look. There were about a dozen children, some of whom must have been there for some time. Apparently, the kidnappers were intending to transport them all at the same time. Considering the risks of such a mass transport, their actual base must have been quite some distance away to justify risking it. As sun set, a train came to the station. Leo and Odin managed to infiltrate the wagons, allowing the train to take them to the old warehouse some distance away. The warehouse must have been the actual holding place, with far more children present, as well as quite a number of bandits.

"What do you think?"

"Think about what? Oh! We should use our darkness to subdue them!"

"Exactly. We split up, and use the remainder of the night to take them out. Start with the leader."

After that, they split up. Odin covered the main entrance, while Leo tried feeling for magic signatures. While not a perfect approach, it allowed him to get a rough estimate of number and locations of enemy mages. But they were very few, so Leo guessed most of the traffickers were not mages, though they may still have magic-based weapons. Leo entered the facility, searching for the leader. Not an easy task, seeing how he would be in the most protected part of the facility.

Once inside, Leo enveloped the area with his Midnight spell. This would not be effective against any opponents capable of utilizing darkness magic, but Leo hoped that there were few to none of them, considering that only few mages were present in the first place. He continued through the warehouse, having a few close calls with bandits who were walking around, arms outstretched feeling for anything. But most bandits stayed close to the walls, making his job far easier. Eventually, he made his way to the room in the far back of the facility. Instead of risking entering himself, he used Brynhildr spell to shoot out sharp branches which demolished the entire wall.

The answer to his "entrance" was a barrage of fire blasts. Fortunately, he wasn't hit since he stood to the side, but between his destruction of wall and retaliation, any notion of stealth was gone. The base had erupted in chaos, but Leo used this opportunity to kill the traffick ring leader. While he could easily leave, letting the traffick ring continue was not an option. Leo thus used the confusion, and started taking bandits out one by one. It was not that hard, since bandits were panicked, but as more of them got taken out, the traffickers started panicking even more. Some of them managed to run outside, and more were killed by their comrades blindly firing spells all over the place. Leo himself was nearly hit several times. Once he entered the great hall, he noticed Odin doing the same on the opposite side, but was soon forced to take shelter behind some boxes to avoid being trampled on by blinded bandits, or hit by a stray spell.

Between those killed or knocked out by Leo and Odin, those killed by their comrades, and those that escaped outside, the number of bandits was dwindling fast. Soon, none were left, and Leo and Odin went outside in search of escapees, but only after sending message to Corrin and Niles to get the children out. They managed to find many of the escaped criminals. Since they were not a threat, they merely knocked the criminals out cold, before tying them up. But many more escaped.

Unknown to Leo, some of the escaped criminals were caught by the Magic Council, which thus learned of activities of Leo's group. The Magic Council decided to place Leo and his associates under surveillance.

A month later, after taking down a dark guild, Leo and his friends decided to get some proper rest, and so went to a nearby town. Just before entering the city, they were approached by a number of Rune Knights.

"Leo Woodstock?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Lahar, of Magic Council's Custody Enforcement Unit. We need you to follow us."

"Are we being detained?"

"That is yet to be determined."

Leo and his group were escorted by Rune Knights to the Magic Council. Leo himself was not particularly optimistic about what was to follow. Gran Doma was not a kind man, and did not take lightly to any breaking of the law. And while they did their best to avoid getting any innocent people caught in the crossfire, it was impossible to know for 100% that it did not happen. If it did, it would be enough to land them in prison by itself. After few hours of travel, they finally arrived at Era.

"Now that you are here, let us begin. You have destroyed a number of criminal organizations and dark guilds over the past years. This is something that cannot be ignored."

"Are you going to punish us?"

"Your fate will be determined at the end of this discussion. As I have said, you have been actively destroying criminal organizations. Do you deny this?"

"...No."

"Do you understand that such actions could have caused retaliation against innocents? Kidnappings, murders of people who had nothing to do with it?"

"I get that. But they were harming innocents anyway! Every one of us has witnessed what they do! Are you saying that we should have just stood by, and let people suffer?"

"You should have left it to people whose job was taking out the criminals. You are aware of Council's Rune Knights, are you not?"

"I am. But..."

"If I may?"

Doma looked annoyed by the intrusion, but still allowed it. "Lahar, speak."

"It is true that their actions were on the border of legality. However, they still took extensive precautions not to harm innocents, and solved several cases that we were unable to. Moreover, in many if not most cases, they did so as a direct response to requests by civilians who were endangered by the dark guild activity. I believe this should be taken into consideration."

Gran Doma remained silent for a moment, before speaking again to Leo. "I cannot question Lahar's judgment, as he was in the field. For this reason, we will let your actions pass. However, you will remain under supervision, and will have to join a legal guild."

"Thank you. If I may ask, what do you mean by supervision?"

"You will not be escorted by a cadre of Rune Knights, that is for sure. However, you will have to write regular reports, and I will be monitoring your performance. I may appoint you a probation officer at my discretion. You will also have to tell us your choice of a guild."

"Fairy Tail, sir."

"Not what I would call a smart choice, especially in this situation, but as you want. Fairy Tail it is. And one more thing. Since you apparently enjoy hunting criminals, the Council or the Rune Knights may request your help with it. You _have_ to accept any such request, or you are going behind the bars. Is this clear?"

"Perfectly, sir."

After Leo had left, Doma motioned for Lahar.

"Sir?"

"You will have someone watch over them while they are at Fairy Tail. I do not want any unpleasant surprises."

"Someone from the Council will have to join Fairy Tail?"

"No. Not this time. You will have someone quietly monitor them while they are out on the missions. Fairy Tail has been quiet for nearly seven years now, but I would rather not take risks. And do it quietly – they are not to know they are being monitored."

"Understood, sir."

The guards woke up Leo and his group early in the morning. After a breakfast, they were escorted out of the Era prison cell where they were being held. Leo didn't exactly know what to think about the entire situation. The Magic Council was more lenient than he expected. There had to be more to it, but what? He spent thinking about it the entire way to Magnolia, but could not reach any concrete conclusion, other than the decision he would talk to Fairy Tail's master once he arrives there. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, even if their arrival alone would be troubling for the guild.

Once they arrived in front of Fairy Tail, Leo's group was let out of the prison carriage. It was not exactly what he expected – a small guild hall with chicken running around the courtyard. Leo wondered if they get any job requests at all. Still, he and his co-convicts would be getting requests straight from Magic Council. He only hoped there would be some form of payment. Once he entered, Leo couldn't help but be surprised at how empty it was. There were only few people there, and fewer still job requests hanging from the request board. He was only woken up from his thoughts once Lahar spoke.

"Master Macao?"

"It is me."

"We have brought some people who have requested to join your guild. They are on probation, so we will need to lay down some rules to follow."

"I'm listening."

"First, you will have to submit reports of their behaviour. Anything out of line they do, we have to know. They are allowed to take job requests. However, they will also take requests from the Council and Rune Knights, and these take precendence, so they shouldn't go too far from the guild. Any time they go out of Magnolia, they are to use the communications lacrima I brought with me to contact the Council or myself and state their destination and purpose. If Council's requests arrive during jobs, any job is to be cancelled in favour of Council's task."

"Understood. It should not be a problem."

"Also, they are personally responsible for their actions. If they cause too much damage, they go back to jail."

"I understand. It will not be a problem."

Then the Council representatives left, with only Leo, Corrin, Odin and Niles being left. Macao turned to them.

"I cannot understand for the love of world why would they place you here..."

Leo interrupted him. "It was our decision."

"In that case, I cannot understand for the love of world why would _you_ want to come into this run-down tavern of a guild. As much as it pains me to say it, but we have been reduced to beggars. Our guild is really in a pathetic state."

"Maybe. But it is a guild. And considering how you were back when I was still actually bothering to read up on the guilds, I believe you can rise again. It may be challenging, but it will be far more fun than joining a guild already on the top."

"Heh. If only I could share your optimism. Anyway, welcome to Fairy Tail."

NOTES:

Leo's Midnight spell here is basically identical to Simon's Dark Moment spell

Regarding why Magic Council let them off the hook... there are two factors in play. First, Magic Council has only very spotty knowledge of Leo & Co.'s activities. Second, many attacks on dark guilds and criminal organizations were a direct response to requests of citizens terrorized by said organizations. As by-the-book as Doma is, he probably wouldn't deny a legitimate need for defense.

And no, Gran Doma does not like Fairy Tail. Like, _at all_. Even if they had been quiet for the last seven years. But he offered Leo a choice, and he may also look at that as the opportunity to find some excuse to harm, maybe even shut down, Fairy Tail itself. So him being this lenient is also logical from larger perspective. But really, I just needed Leo to join Fairy Tail, and this was the best I could come up with.


	6. First Job

Leo had concluded that the life in Fairy Tail was fairly interesting. There weren't many people, but those that were present were all a little bit crazy – not that he lacked in that department, considering his teammates. Still, as much as he wouldn't admit it out loud, some new faces were a welcome sight. He did mostly spend free time in a corner, reading, but in between the books he found some time to talk to the guildmaster, Macao. As for jobs, he continued with his old tradition of chasing criminals – both from job requests and, more often, on a direct request from the authorities.

First job, however, was a simple escort mission. As Magnolia was a port town, goods often came to the town. One shipment was a cargo of gold bars, destined for Crocus. Leo and Corrin got up at just after midnight, as the train would be leaving well before the sunrise. Niles and Odin were off on a job of their own, and would not be back for some time. They had no trouble getting on the train, and the ride was quet. It was just after sunrise in the canyon that the train was forced to suddenly stop.

A large portion of their wagon got destroyed by a magic attack. Leo could hardly see anything from the smoke. Corrin used Exclusion spell to maintain a smoke-free area, and Leo quickly retreated to her side. The area wasn't large, and he was worried that some bandits may slip by, but survival was a priority. They were attacked by spells, and Leo just barely managed to defend them by erecting a small baobab tree.

"Behind you!"

At Corrin's shout, Leo turned around, seeing a bandit who had just came out of smoke. He was forced to duck out of the way. The attack hit him in the side, but it was a glancing hit, and his armour absorbed the damage so he didn't get injured. Leo quickly counterattacked, using vines to immobilize the attacker, but the bandit turned out to be a fire mage and simply burned the vines. Leo used this time to close the distance and punch the bandit with a darkness-imbued punch. This was blocked, but the distraction allowed Corrin to cut down Leo's opponent. But once the smoke cleared, they were left with a shock. Most of the gold was already gone.

Once the captured bandit woke up, Leo and Corrin attempted to interrogate him. They used various approaches – classical interview, good cop – bad cop routine etc – and gleamed some facts. In the end, however, they had nothing concrete other than the guild mark on bandit's shoulder – that of a thief guild, "One-Eyed Raven". They delivered the remaining gold, and were directed to deliver the bandit to the Rune Knights. However, while on the way, the bandit escaped.

"Are you sure about this, Leo?"

"What is it to be sure about?"

"Letting him escape. Do you think he will lead us to their base?"

"Who knows. Maybe he will run into a random direction. But it is our best bet, and besides, we can always recapture him and turn him over to the Rune Knights. But if we do so, they will just lock him up and do nothing. It is better this way. And a wounded animal always runs back to the herd. This bandit is no different."

"You seem awfully sure about this."

"Of course I am."

The bandit went towards the forrest, and Leo and Corrin were forced to stick close to him not to lose him. Luckily, they had some cover, and the forrest itself was dark, allowing Leo to utilize his darkness magic to full extent. As a result, Leo was able to keep them hidden and unnoticed. After some time, the bandit led them to old ruins. At first glance there was nothing remarkable about them, but Leo soon heard voices. It was the bandits' base. And quite large one, at that. It was impossible for two of them to take on the bandits alone.

"Corrin, go to the city and get the Rune Knights."

"What about you?"

"I'll keep an eye on these guys. Now move."

At that, Corrin went back to town, while Leo kept watch. The bandits were awfully relaxed. There were only a few guards, and most of them were either inside the castle, or around the fires. This played in their favour. By the time help came, the darkness will have fallen. As a result, bandits will be blinded by their own fires. There seemed to be no outlying guards or scouts; all the guards were close to or even within the castle grounds. In the hours of keeping watch, Leo did not notice any patrols going out of the castle or returning to it. Leo guessed that they felt safe this deep in the forrest.

It was late afternoon when Corrin returned with the Rune Knights. Leo immediately went to discuss the situation with the unit commander.

"This is the situation. Bandits are concentrated inside the castle grounds. There are some guards on the walls and towers, but there are no outlying scouts. Therefore, it will be easy to surround the castle with a rune barrier without them noticing. Once that is done, we enter the castle and take them out."

"Sounds fine. I will leave some knights outside the runes just in case."

After that, they split up. Commander and some of the knights remained outside, while a larger group went with Leo and Corrin. As forrest was close to the castle, they managed to get almost to the castle walls unnoticed. Leo took quick note of guards on the ruined walls and towers, but most of the bandits seemed to be in the main courtyard. The situation was far from optimal – he could only take out multiple spread-out guards with Pillars of Shadow, but that spell would leave him exhausted while warning everyone within few miles of his presence. Even so, it had to be done, lest they leave themselves open to attacks from the high ground.

After warning the Rune Knights, Leo took out the guards. Ignoring the sudden commotion from the castle courtyard, he brought down portion of the courtyard wall to the side of the main entrance. Through this hole, they entered the courtyard. Rather large number of bandits was present there, and the courtyard quickly erupted into chaos of flying spells and shouts. Leo left everybody else do the fighting, sticking close to Corrin while he waited for his magic power to recover. While a few bandits tried to attack them, Corrin quickly cut them down. They continued running along the outer edge of the courtyard towards the entrance into the main castle building, where bandit leader would likely be.

They broke through the entrance, but Leo was forced to suddenly duck as a wave of spells came their way. Apparently, a welcome party had already been prepared. There were maybe a dozen mages there, not an insurmountable obstacle but too dangerous to take head-on, especially with a battle still raging behind. Instead, Leo used gravity magic to bring down the roof above their heads.

"Corrin, now!"

Realizing what Leo had meant, Corrin leapt into the entrance hall, cutting down bandits disoriented by the stone dust. Leo quickly joined her, requipping a sword so as to preserve his magic power as much as possible. Clearing the entrance hall from the remaining bandits took only a short time. After that, Leo and Corrin moved into a long hallway, lined with rooms. Leo took to clearing the left and Corrin the right side, breaking through walls from room to room so as to avoid going through the doors, and thus avoid possible ambushes. But the rooms were empty. In that manner, they arrived into the great hall. It was completely empty, and it didn't ring well with Leo. They should have met some resistance by now – they could not have all been defeated already.

Leo and Corrin continued further into the great hall. There was no movement, no sounds, other than their own. Leo could only describe the situation as "creepy". Fighting was far preferable to waiting on a possible ambush. _Likely_ ambush, actually, as the size of the castle meant that the bandits outside could not have been the entire crew of the castle. Leo signalled Corrin to stay in the shadow, and went further in. He just reached the middle, when he had to duck out of the way of an incoming spell.

 _Just as I thought._

Leo threw a Dark Grenade in direction the attack came from. Darkness projectile disappeared into the shadows, soon followed by an explosion and a sound of stones collapsing. Leo didn't know whether the bandit was caught in the blast; at the time, it didn't matter anyway. While he could easily avoid the enemies with his own darkness magic, he was playing the bait here. He took out another bandit which tried to attack him – this time with a club, obviously not a mage – and waited for another attack. _Attacks_ , as it turned out – they came from multiple directions, and some even hit home, albeit thick armour protected Leo from most damage. But these attacks revealed bandits' locations, allowing Leo and Corrin to take them out. Most of them, at any rate, as Leo noticed the far door of the hall was thrown open, apparently in a hurry.

Leo and Corrin went through the door, seeing that it lead into a perpendicular hallway. They decided to split up, Leo taking the left side. The hallway was empty, and at its end he came to a spiral staircase. Taking the staircase, he saw that it led to the dungeons.

"What the..."

The dungeons were full of things. Gold, silver, but also weapons, books, potions... the more Leo saw of them, the more obvious true extent of the bandits' operations became. But in the end, he hit a wall – quite literally. Somebody had set up a rune barrier. It stretched from one side of the dungeon to another, so the only way around it would be to drill, which was not a favourable option considering the state of the castle, and dungeons in particular – one wayward spell could bring the entire ceilling down. Just moments later, Corrin arrived.

"Rune barrier?"

"Yes. Get the Rune Knights. We will need them to get rid of it."

Corrin ran off, leaving Leo in thought. Even if they get rid of the barrier, bandits would have gained quite a head start. And in a forrest, finding them will be nearly impossible. He could only hope Corrin wouldn't take too long, and that the Rune Knights had finished their work by now. So he sat in silence, waiting for the Knights to arrive.

It took several minutes, but long enough that Leo wondered whether it would be possible to catch up to the escapees. It took another two minutes for the rune barrier to be disassembled, and Leo took off as soon as it was. The passage stretched for a long distance, but in the end he burst out back into the forrest. It was much denser than earlier, and Leo realized he wasn't able to sense the escapees' magical signature – either they were not magicians, or else they were too far away. One way or another, he had lost them. Leo turned around to inform the Rune Knights, and see what was going in back in the castle.

Apparently, the Rune Knights had done a good job of turning the basement upside-down while he was chasing the escapees. They had already found several alcoves containing captured treasures, and the rest of the bandits booty was bound to be lying around. Following hours were spent searching through the castle – bandits' treasure, belongings, and information. A lot of material possessions were found, to be taken back to the Rune Knights' outpost, but little in way of information on how many bandits there originally were, and how many – and where – they could have escaped to. Only hope Leo had was that not too many had escaped. Eventually, the search was called off, and the Rune Knights went back to their base, while Leo and Corrin went back to Fairy Tail.

NOTE: I know I haven't really had Leo interact with other Fairy Tail members much, but he is quite withdrawn, and there aren't many of them at this time anyway. Corrin does interact with people, but she is used to Leo just being in the corner and reading, or else just being around people he already knows, and there is nobody else to take him out of his shell. Except Macao, maybe, but he has too much on his plate as it is. At any rate, there are very few Fairy Tail members left. Nab, who spends time meditating in front of the request board, Droy, who is too busy eating... Natsu is perfect to get him to open up, but he and the rest of the Tenrou group aren't back yet, and will not be for some time.


	7. Water and Mud

I'm sorry this update took this long, but I had quite a busy schedule, and will likely continue to be busy, so bear with me. For now, it is just a no-plot easing into the universe, but the fanfic will be catching up and merging with the canon plot sometime in the future.

 **Chapter 7: Water and mud**

Leo sat thinking in the corner. Guild around him was quiet, quite unlike what he had heard Fairy Tail used to be some six-and-half years ago. Macao had told him they used to have a larger building and was full of members, but now the guild had been reduced to a half-empty run-down tavern. Rebuilding the guild to what it used to be will be a lot of the work, if it can be done in the first place. And he wanted it to happen, for Corrin – unlike himself – liked places full of people. Guild members present currently were good people, but they were either too quirky or too withdrawn. But for guild to rebuild, they needed to get it some recognition. Grand Magic Games were an option, but Fairy Tail's guild members were way too specialized, putting them at significant disadvantage even before disparity in power between them and Sabertooth's heavy hitters was considered. As the games' tasks were not known until after the games' beginning, Fairy Tail's heavily specialized nature meant that most team members would be only useful if they were lucky enough one of tasks they were good at happened to be included in the games.

His thought train was interrupted when he saw Macao enter and walk over to the table.  
„Is Corrin with you?"  
„No, she went to the town. Why?"  
„We have received a request. Specifically for two of you. Apparently, someone has taken notice of you."  
„What does it say?"  
„A village had been flooded. Its dam failed for unknown reasons. It needs fixing, but before that, people have to be evacuated as well. It seems that your magic makes you particularly suited for the request."  
„Any more information?"  
„Unfortunately, none. You will be briefed by the local authorities once you arrive there."  
„Good. Now if you'll excuse me…"

With that, Leo stood up and went outside. He did not know where Corrin went, but he had a good idea. He went to the lighthouse overlooking the harbour, and indeed, there she was.

„Corrin?"  
„Leo? You're here?"  
„Looking for you. We have a job to do."  
„Can't somebody else do it?"  
„No. They requested specifically us."  
„Leo, we have been fighting other people too much. I know it is necessary, but just once, I want to help without having to hurt anybody."  
„You are in luck, then. Come!"

Without any further explanation, Leo grabbed her by hand and led her back to their room. He explained about the mission along the way, and Corrin indeed saw how their skills could be useful in that kind of situation. It was not very far away from Magnolia, so ride would not be unpleasant. They went by the train, and arrived to their destination some two hours later. From there, it was no more than half an hour by the cart. First, however, they went to the town mayor.

„You are from Fairy Tail, I suppose?"  
„Correct."  
„Then you must have received the request. We do not have resources here to evacuate them, so that will be your job. Do not worry about anything else; taking care of the evacuees afterwards will be my duty."  
„Anything more?"  
„The dam failed early in the morning. It was gradual, so people managed to evacuate to a nearby hill. That being said, there was no time for them to get out of the valley itself. If they do not get evacuated soon, they will starve."

After that, they took the carriage to the flooded valley. The road was overlooking the valley below, so Leo was able to get a very good view of the situation. It was indeed as mayor had described it. The entire valley had gotten flooded, and muddy water did not look healthy at all. Some distance from the destroyed dam, and very large distance from the new shore, was a small hill-turned-island – Leo thought he could see the people there. He manipulated gravity, launching himself and Corrin to the island. They landed – crashed, nearly, as having to control gravity of two people made Leo's control far less precise – at a ramshackle camp, built, it appeared, mostly from collected debris. Once they got up, they fired a flare and waited for the response.

Not much time passed before an old man came their way. He himself was dirty and appeared injured, but nevertheless hurried along. The man stopped in front of Leo, and offered him a hand, which Leo took.

„Thank you for comimg. My name is Edward Carrigan, this valley's mayor."  
„Leo Woodstock. We came here at request sent to our guild."  
„As you may have been informed, situation is definetly not good. We had lost much of our supplies, and we have injured people. Some have died from infections. Even if the distance to land had been lesser, many would not have been able to cross it. They need to be evacuated with boats, and we do not have time to wait for the boats to be built."

At that, Leo turned to Corrin. „Any way for you to freeze the lake?"  
„Not at this size. I can build an ice bridge, but it would get destroyed by currents due to its length."  
„So we need to anchor it at intervals. I might have a solution for that."

Saying that, Leo turned away and cast a spell. A massive mangrove tree rose from the water, less than hundred meters from the shore. Understanding Leo's intention, Corrin touched water with the tip of her sword, letting ice spread from the shore to the tree.

„Good. Mr. Edward, please get your people together, so they can make the crossing."

In the end, people were split into groups to prevent any single section of the bridge from carrying to great a load. First group would go to the first tree, and then move onto the second tree while second group moved to the first one. In that way, the survivors slowly made their way to the shore. Most of the supplies were left at the island, so as to make the crossing less risky. Leo used his gravity magic to transfer some to the shore, but many of those broke, as the distance involved made it difficult to control the precise speed of the object.

Eventually, everyone managed to cross safely, as the thick ice bridge was able to carry groups' weights splendidly. After the crossing, Leo helped with construction of a temporary camp, using gravity magic to help with construction of shelters and dig out a pit latrine some distance from the water. Corrin meanwhile went back to the town for help. It took her some time to find the mayor, who was apparently hiding from his secretary.

"Um, sir?"  
"Yes?"  
"We had managed to get the people to safety, but they have nothing left."  
"Nothing at all?"  
"No."  
"Can you write down what you need? I'll see what I can do."  
"Right away, sir!"

Corrin sat down to a work table, and immediately started writing. Unfortunately, it was far easier to list what people _didn't_ need... fresh water, food, tents, medicine, even clothes... it was doubtful whether mayor would be able to provide all of it, much less on time, but he was her only avenue. When she finally finished, she brought the list to the mayor, who fortunately approved the requests. She didn't wait, but at once bolted out.

When she arrived at the shore lake, she found Leo busy helping organize people. They had been able to salvage some scrap material and make for temporary shelters, but these were only a very temporary solution. Even though Leo had used vines to reinforce the shelters, they could not truly protect from the elements. Water was the greater issue, though. Leo could use his magic to grow food, but drinking water was not to be had that easily. Neither of them knew water, or even ice, magic that could be used to provide.

Fortunately, mayor made good on his promises. It was only hours before first packages – food, and more importantly water – started arriving. They were followed by more, until basic needs of the people were reasonably well satisfied. Soon after, other provisions started coming in as well – medical accessories, clothes, tents. Thanks to those, they were able to erect temporary housing and thus satisfy livelihood issues for the immediate future. By the time temporary nature of the provisions became an issue, flood will have hopefully withdrawn and most important damage fixed. In the meantime, even temporary housing could be erected thanks to overabundance of timber provided by Leo's tree magic.

After housing was erected, with Leo's and Corrin's help, there was little more for them to do. They thus returned to Fairy Tail. Corrin however was unusually silent during the ride, and Leo was in no mood to interrupt her. But after they were back in Magnolia, he decided he wouldn't let it be any longer.

"Corrin? What is wrong?"  
"We... we weren't truly able to help them... people have died, the village is still under water, and so many things can happen..."  
"We did what we could. That is why guilds exist. Nobody is capable of everything, and nobody can, or should, shoulder the weight alone. We help each other carry the responsibilities."  
"But there isn't always someone capable of doing so!"  
"That is how it is. World is not ideal, you can only accept it, do what you can and not worry about what you cannot change. You need to be able to pick your battles, do good where you can, and not waste your energy on futile efforts."  
"That... I cannot accept that!"  
"You have to. Because if you spend yourself trying to change what you cannot change, you will not be able to help where you can."  
"I see..."

Corrin remained quiet while they walked back to the guild. She understood what Leo was saying, but still it hurt to hear it. Being unable to help hurt. If they had arrived earlier, maybe some people who have died from infection could have been saved. In the end, she opted for joining Leo in the library. At least there she could take her mind off such things, discussing philosophy or history with Leo – even though she often couldn't keep up. They took some books, and went back to the guild.

But reading time was not to last. Soon enough, Macao came with new request.  
"Sorry to interrupt your reading, but we have had a new request from the client. The water had receded, and they require your help in fixing the barricade."  
"Fixing...? So, the flood receded?"  
"Yes. But they want to make sure that the barricade stays stable. I believe you can help with that."  
"Another trip? I guess it can't be helped. Should I take Corrin with me?"  
"I think it cannot hurt."

So Leo and Corrin set out for the village again. Even from the distance, they were able to make out the muddy fields full of trash the flood had brought with it. Apparently, a cleaning effort was underway, and a great number of people were busy in the fields. More people were working on repairing the dam. Once they arrived to the village, Leo went to find Carrigan, who had managed to somewhat clean his office.

"Sir, it is my understanding that we are to help here."  
"You are understanding correctly. We need that dam in the working order."  
"Reinforced?"  
"Fixed and reinforced, yes, if it can be done."  
"Don't worry about it."

With that, Leo and Corrin went outside. Corrin went to help with work at the village itself, while Leo went to the dam.

The repair work at the dam was nothing that gave him confidence the situation wouldn't repeat itself. It was, if anything, sloppy – the earth was not compressed properly, and the consistency was sadly lacking. Leo set out to fix that, using his gravity magic to compress the earth, and also added more earth to the dam besides. Once that was done, he covered the entire rear of the dam with ivy and branches to further secure it. With that, he went back to the village, helping out alongside Corrin until most of the major work was done.

Leo couldn't help to notice that Corrin seemed far happier on their way back. She liked helping people, being of use. And he really liked that about her.


End file.
